1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fold-up wheelchair and an elevating apparatus of the same, by which a caregiver having a poor physical strength such as an aged person or the like can easily second a bed-ridden patient or a patient having difficulty in walking.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
As a conventional art, there has been a fold-up wheelchair, in which a chair main body is formed by rotatably connecting side frames of a parallel link type to both right and left sides of a base frame and mounting a seat between both the side frames, a rear leg is rotatably connected to a rear frame of each of the side frames toward a rear lower direction, a screw shaft being movable in a forward and backward direction is connected to the side frames and the rear legs, and the chair main body is made into a surface shape or a chair shape by moving the screw shaft forward and backward (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-177334 (page 1)).
Further, there has been a fold-up wheelchair in which a chair main body is formed by rotatably connecting side frames of a parallel link type to both right and left sides of a base frame and mounting a seat between both the side frames, a rear leg is rotatably connected to a rear frame of each of the side frames toward a rear lower direction, a screw shaft being movable in an upward and downward direction is connected to a vertically middle portion of the rear frame and a vertically middle portion of the rear leg, and the chair main body is made into a surface shape or a chair shape by moving the screw shaft forward or backward (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-145670 (page 1)).
Further, there has been an elevating apparatus (a stacker) structured such that a load carrying platform on which the fold-up wheelchair mentioned above can be mounted is attached to a rising mast in such a manner as to be freely movable upward and downward, and the load carrying platform is moved upward and downward by a motor-driven winch (for example, refer to a non-patent document, Mechanical Engineering Manual Sixth Revision, page 44 and FIG. 148 in Section 16, written by Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers Corporation, issued on Mar. 20, 1982).
In the structures in the patent documents Nos. 2001-177334 and 2001-145670 mentioned above, when being folded up, the mounting surface forms into the surface shape and descends, whereby it is possible to transfer the patient in bed between the bed (futon) and the wheelchair by a comparatively small labor. Further, when expanding to the chair shape under this state, the normal wheelchair is formed, and it is possible to easily move the patient mentioned above to a bath or a lavatory. However, when receiving the patient in the bath under a state of mounting on the wheelchair, the whole of the screw shaft and the tube body engaged with the screw shaft are immersed in a hot water. Accordingly, it is impossible to directly connect a driving motor to the screw shaft, it is necessary to rotate the screw shaft by engaging an independent power jig, and an operation becomes complicated. Further, the screw shaft rusts easily by the hot water, and it is impossible to stabilize the operation of the screw shaft for a long time period.
In the non-patent document mentioned above, since the load carrying platform and the fold-up wheelchair mounted on the load carrying platform are always moved upward and downward in a horizontal state, there is a limit to transfer the patient between the bed (futon) and the wheelchair by less labor. An object of the present invention is to provide a novel fold-up wheelchair and an elevating apparatus of the same which can solve the problems mentioned above.